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Thursday, September 6, 2012

At the Wolverine 1000 Mile pop up in Nolita, an intimate
jewel of a presentation took place for Samantha Pleet Spring 2013. A small crowd gathered in the middle of the
space grazing on wine and cheese, the room glowing with
golden light, warm against a patchwork textile backdrop for the models and the
timber wood interior - a welcome departure from the often stark white studio spaces of Fashion Week presentations.You got the
feeling that everyone who was there wanted to be there. And that instead of a Fashion Week
presentation, this was a gathering of friends, family and supporters of the
designer, who has quite a cult following for her signature dresses, which are
often modestly cut, but skim the body just so, in the most flattering way.

Wolverine 1000 is a vintage inspired brand which specializes
in rugged boots with a nod to heritage.
Pleet also worked with the brand to create the mostly low-heeled taupe and turquoise boots for this collection,
a fitting complement for the natural looking colors and prints for Spring –
sand, rusty browns and peach. The
textiles in this new collection had an ancient, mystical feeling to them, with lots of crinkle cotton,
raw silk and washed cotton.

While show notes indicate that the designer drew
inspiration from "ancient societies of the
Fertile Crescent and the 19th century explorers that rediscovered
them," Spring’s silhouettes and prints were thoroughly modern in their
execution. One could picture any laidback
yet thoughtfully styled Nolita or Brooklyn girl wearing head to toe
looks from the show. You know that girl
well. You’re always asking her where she
got that one perfect, floaty spring maxi or that cropped sleeve midi dress. She’s not trying too hard, and you’re
sweating her style. I had my eye on the
sand raw silk herringbone blazer and shorts combo (above top), while my friend honed in on
a midi length beige "Compass" print cotton dress on a nearby dress form (above bottom).

I met the designer (pictured above) who is about as nice and authentic an individual as they come,
chatting at ease with journalists and well wishers who had formed a circle
around her in the room. As she navigated
her way through the crowd, and as we expressed our enthusiasm about the
artisanal yet modern looks, she seemed genuinely touched. “Do you like it?” She
said, reflecting for a moment on the format. “I wanted something intimate, and this was the
perfect space for it. I thought a wine and cheese reception would be nice.”